Rockport Zoning Board of Appeals, Oct. 8, 2026

Where do we go? Okay. All right, everyone. Welcome. It is the October 8th meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals rescheduled from September 30th, and just as a reminder, this meeting is being recorded.

So 603. Give me just a moment. All right. So we have our only hearing tonight. Apologies in advance if I mispronounce any of your names.

Sitting on this, we have myself, Tacy, Lauren, Erin, and Dick. And we have, I believe, Wilhelmina Sheedy representing the applicant?

Thomas Levenson and Katha Seidman as managers of Naledi By The Sea LLC. If you're like me, when you first saw the plan, you said, whoa, it goes all the way to the rear boundary line almost. But there are mitigating circumstances in this case, and I'll go through that.

They're proposing to remove a small mudroom in the rear of their home and replace it and slightly expand it in order to expand the kitchen and include a half bath and sauna.

If someone could share the site plan, I would really appreciate it. Every time I try to share my documents, I get kicked out of the meeting.

So what, I'm sorry, go ahead. John, are you able to do that? Let me try. Let's see. The site plan might have to be expanded a little bit. Is it showing? The application is showing. Yep, we've got your screen, John. Thank you. So you want to go to the site plan? Yeah, I think that would be more tell the story, show the site. Those are the floor plans. There must be the last one.

Right there. If you could expand that a little bit, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you. Wonderful. So in the rear of the property, they'd like to, as I said, expand the kitchen and a small mudroom.

Well, remove a small mudroom and replace and suddenly expand it in order to expand the kitchen and include a half bath and sauna.

This property is located in a single residential district on the north side of Eden Road.

It contains a nonconforming structure on a nonconforming lot. The lot itself is under the required 20,000 square feet. At 30,000 square feet. And it's irregular in shape. As you can see, it's like a backwards L shape. The home is conforming to all other dimensional requirements, except for the side yard setback.

To the septic system in the front yard. There are several letters of support that were submitted by the direct butters to this property on either side and the two across the street.

They support this proposal and they do not want to see the addition in the front of the home as they want to keep the property consistent with the existing neighborhood.

The addition to the rear of the current home, if we could expand that just a little bit more so we could show this back corner here. It would increase the right side yard setback from four feet slightly to 3.8 feet for a total area of approximately 20 square feet, a small area right here.

And this is due to the slanting boundary line on this side of the home. It would also result in a rear yard setback of 1.8 feet. However, the petitioners have a use easement in the back here, exclusive use easement effectively granting additional green space behind this addition.

Furthermore, Oaks Lane, which is an old paper road that's behind the easement provides additional green space and there are no improvements on the other side of Oaks Lane.

Therefore, no butters would be affected by the addition. As this property is nonconforming home on a nonconforming lot and the right side yard setback would be slightly intensified for approximately 20 square feet, special permit relief will be required.

Further, as the proposal would create a new nonconformity in the rear yard setback, a variance would also be required.

The first floor gross living area would add a modest 651 square feet to the first floor of this relatively small home. And 399 square feet on the second floor for storage and office space above the studio. The studio would have a slop sink but no bathroom. However, the proposal includes adding a three inch drain line so if the owner would like to apply for an ADU, adding a bathroom and a kitchen would be less onerous.

And according to the bylaws section 3B2, the Board of Appeals may authorize a special permit for the enlargement change or alteration of a nonconforming structure or use provided such extension enlargement change or alteration shall not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing use.

And pursuant to 17D1 of the bylaw, the Board of Appeals shall find that all the following conditions are satisfied.

One, that the specific site is an appropriate location for such use, structure or condition. Two, the use or action will not be detrimental to the neighborhood and without limiting the foregoing because of noise, odors, vibration or inciteliness.

Three, adequate and appropriate facilities will be provided for the proper operation of the proposed use. And four, the proposed use, structure or condition is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the bylaw. The addition as proposed would not be detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing structure. In fact, quite the opposite, as the plan submitted by the petitioner and drawn by Celeste High Neck Architect depict a modest addition that is tailored to the architecture of the current structure.

The proposed addition will have no negative impact on the neighborhood. This specific site is an appropriate location for the use and structure. The addition with a footprint measuring 651 square feet on the site is appropriate. It will be the same noise level, odors and vibration as a current single family residential use of the structure. The existing structure contains at least the required number of parking spaces required under the bylaw.

Therefore, adequate and appropriate facilities will be in place for the continued use of the property for residential purposes. The proposed use and structure are in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the bylaw. Pursuant to Section 17C of the bylaw, the Board of Appeals may authorize a variance from the required site and rear yard setbacks contained in Section 6B.

Pursuant to Section 10 of Mass General Law 40A, the Zoning Act, which was recently revised, this board is authorized to grant a variance in any district upon a finding of whether strict enforcement of the bylaw would result in practical difficulty.

To make this determination, the board will be required to weigh the benefits to the applicant and to the public interest, which is defined to include production of housing as compared to the detriment to the public health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood impacted.

The board may also consider whether the practical difficulty relates to soil conditions, shape or topography of such land or structures, whether the strict enforcement would impose a financial hardship on the petitioner,

and whether the benefits sought by the petitioner could be achieved by some other method feasible for the petitioner to achieve, and whether the practical difficulty was self-created.

We would argue that strict enforcement of the bylaw would result in practical difficulty for the petitioner's proposal. The law itself is irregular in a backward L shape. The home was built about 1895 and that was well before the adoption of the bylaw and is set back over 113 feet from the front boundary line.

Placing the addition to the front would mean completely reconfiguring the existing home, which would create a financial hardship to the petitioner, and it would place the addition too close to the septic system in the front yard.

It has a practical difficulty exists with the soil conditions, shape of the land, and the original placement of the home so far back from the street.

The directed butters support the proposal to put the addition in the back of the home. In this unique situation, the petitioners have a use easement to the rear of their property, effectively granting additional green space behind the proposed addition.

Further green space is available on Oaks Lane, a paper road behind the use easement, which is unimproved and is used as a pathway, and there are no improvements on the other side of Oaks Lane.

Therefore, no butters would be affected by the addition. The existing structure, the psych contains at least the required number of parking spaces required under the bylaw. There is no detriment to the public health, safety, or welfare of the neighborhood by placing the addition in the rear of the existing home.

Further, adding a three inch drain line would permit the owner to apply for an accessory dwelling unit as the studio space would provide adequate area for a bathroom and kitchen, thus producing another housing unit in town.

There is no other feasible spot on this property to place the addition. And I'm not sure if the board members have had a chance to do a site visit on the property, but I can tell you when I went out there, I was, you know, completely surprised by how open the spaces back there and how there are no improvements back there and how this addition would not affect anyone who is surrounding this area.

So, you know, if the board is feeling like simply this is just too close to the boundary line, I really would suggest that we do a site visit and so that you can see for yourself, you know, the condition of the property and the location of the proposed addition.

Thank you. Okay. All right, why don't we, John, if you could, let's just scroll through the elevations just for everyone who's here who may not have seen them might have to shrink that a little bit.

So let's go to. Okay, is this the first sheet.

This is the last in the elevations the sheet number 35. Okay, so let's just go to the first sheet and just go through them so that we have them on the screen for everyone who's here.

Okay, this would be the front elevation which is sheet 32. Yep. Okay. And let's just go to the next. This side, left side. Okay. And our left side, our left side is where we're 10 feet. Okay.

Rear. All right. Right side.

Okay, and john could you just bring up the floor plan. Thank you.

Okay. All right, I mean anything else at the moment or I'll start. The only thing I would like to add is that Catholic studio in their primary residence right now is a lot larger than the studio so it's, it's just about as small as they can make it in order for her to be able to work in it.

And I'm not sure if anyone had a chance to look at a resume or her book with pictures of her work, but that would make it more understandable to see why she needs the studio in the home and they do want to make this their primary residence they do want to move here, but they

would need to add this addition. Okay. So I have a question about that so the studio needs to be the size it is it's the important thing why are we even talking about turning it into an ad you.

Well it's just a possibility that it could down the line they're putting a drain line in. So, if a future owner wanted to create an ad you or maybe they would, as the age, I'm not sure, but it could possibly be because there would be a drain line there available.

Okay. All right. I mean obviously and I'll board, we'll have you jump in in a minute. You know, I understand the green space I understand the Oakland situation, you know, less than two feet from a lot line is very close.

So that certainly jumped out. I did go over there but unless there's a way that I didn't see from the street you can't see anything is there a way to get back there without walking on property I wouldn't tell so I didn't want to start wandering around.

Right up the driveway to the back of the house. Right, but I wasn't going to just walk up their driveway. Oh sure. With British, you know, we decide that's necessary with permission we'll have that conversation but you know, I did try to drive over but I just wasn't sure the layout on the ground.

And then, so you mentioned that this is like the minimum size of a studio. So was there any consideration to try to make this entire edition smaller I mean you've got a sauna and like a fourth bathroom in the middle here.

That's bumping it out that much further to the lot line would it be possible to configure in a different way that this would still be functional.

Oh well I think there's an existing mud room on there right now. That's going to be taken down. You can sort of see the dash lines of that. So it's, it's not a very big expansion to make the kitchen a little bit bigger and to add that half bath and sauna in the back, but I would ask, I know that my client is here tonight.

And if she'd like to speak to that that would be fine. But I do know that we did discuss the size of the studio and it's much smaller than the studio in her primary home so consideration was given to make this as small as they could.

As far as the half bath. I don't see. I see a water closet on the upper right. But I think I'm not sure why this. I'm happy that it's not plain. Well, we'll get there. Yep. I have to I have to recognize everybody for the record so for does anyone else have anything they want to comment on right now or would we like to hear from the applicant about what we're talking about in the layout.

I have a question Britta. So, I'm looking at slide 30 of the application with the floor plan and marked in red is 30 feet, and then an additional five, it looks like five feet.

So are we asking for an additional 35 feet by is that 19. It's hard to see over I guess I'm just looking for like the dimensions of what the additional spaces because this is quite a large addition so I just want to make sure I understand what the dimensions are.

Can I look at. Can we expand it a little bit. It looks like the entire the entire.

That looks like 30 feet on the top there. And then five feet, six inches on the right on the bottom it looks like 21 feet plus 16 which be 37.

But we have the existing mud room. Oh, there's the arrow there existing mud room to be removed.

That's already there. So approximately five feet four inches is already there. I would say so.

So, we're eventually before we move. This is a kind of two phase process. We're going to the living room right now is really tiny.

We're basically just going to extend the living room to take over what's currently the half bath and washer dryer. And that's why we're putting the washer dryer behind the kitchen.

This, the living room is about 10 by 10 it's really quite small.

So when we move there. Before we move there we'll do that, and the kitchen we're not going to do the kitchen. We're making the space for it but

both my husband and I cook I used to be a professional chef. So, having a somewhat bigger kitchen so both of us can work in it is really important.

We really tried so hard to shrink the studio to really shoehorned it into the back of the house.

The, the work that I do right now is fairly large. I'm working on a piece that's 10 by 10 by nine feet.

And it's. So just having enough space to be able to see the pieces of it, even if I couldn't put it all up in the studio. I could, you have to be able to move around it.

So, that's why the size. Yeah, and that, and so it appears to have four bathrooms when it's finished but actually we're taking out the front bathroom.

The front ground floor bathroom I should say. Next to the living room. Exactly. Okay. Board, any other questions for the applicant right now. No, no. Okay, thank you. I'm sorry, that was from the public sorry. Yep. Okay, no, we're getting there. Anything else from the board right now and if, or the applicant, if not we'll open to the public.

Okay, John, could you stop the screen share just so I can see the room better. Thank you. Okay, so we will open this for public comment questions. If you would like to speak if you could wave at us on your screen, use the share. Excuse me the.